Care Companion wins Rep. Veronica Escobar’s 2024 Congressional App Challenge in Texas’ 16th District
Rep. Veronica Escobar has named Marcus Hunt of Coronado High School, and Sebastian Ruiz of Cathedral High School as the winners of the 2024 Congressional App Challenge in Texas’ 16th District.
When asked what inspired the creation of Care Companion, the Marcus Hunt said, “My inspiration behind creating the Care Companion App stems from witnessing my grandmother live with Alzheimer’s, a condition that not only affected her but also profoundly impacted my grandfather, who took on the role of primary caregiver. I was inspired to create an app to make it easier for my grandmother and grandfather and others in similar situations.”
Sebastian Ruiz remarked, “My inspiration for creating the Care Companion App was my younger sister Nina. Being born with many special needs, she requires nursing 24 hours a day everyday of the week, and takes many medications and has different therapies scheduled throughout the day. This app will be of tremendous help for my parents and my sister’s nurses.
The desire to alleviate some of the caregiver burden and enhance the caregiving experience for both the caregiver and those they care for sparked the idea of Care Companion.”
This year’s Congressional App Challenge set new records, with an unprecedented 382 Members of the House of Representatives hosting competitions—surpassing the previous high of 374. An incredible 12,682 students from across the country participated, representing a growth of over 1,000 students compared to 2023. These talented students submitted an astounding 3,881 original applications, showcasing their creativity, passion for technology, and the limitless potential of America’s next generation of innovators. This surge in participation reflects the increasing excitement around STEM and highlights a bright future for American innovation.
The Congressional App Challenge is an official initiative of the U.S. House of Representatives, where Members of Congress host contests in their districts for middle school and high school students, encouraging them to learn to code and inspiring them to pursue careers in computer science. This resounding show of bipartisan support emphasizes the critical importance of STEM education in today’s rapidly evolving world. Each participating Member of Congress selects a winning app from their district, and each winning team is invited to showcase their winning app to Congress during our annual #HouseOfCode festival.
The program is a public-private partnership made possible through funding from the Broadcom Foundation, AWS, Rise, theCoderSchool, Apple, and others.
The 2024 Congressional App Challenge will launch in May of 2025, and eligible students can pre-register for the competition now.